BBC Worldwide Shakes Up Management

Commercial arm organizes along regional lines

LONDON – The BBC’s commercial arm, BBC Worldwide, whose revenue totals £1.09 billion ($1.63 billion), has made further management changes as it restructures along geographic rather than divisional lines.

Ian McDonough has been tapped as exec VP for Central Europe, Middle East and Africa. He will also guide commercial strategy for the BBC’s channels worldwide, working alongside Liam Keelan, BBC Worldwide’s editorial director.

Each exec VP will be responsible for delivering revenue and profit growth across all businesses in their region, including channels, TV sales, consumer products and production.

BBC Worldwide was formerly organized around three global divisions: consumer products, channels, and sales and distribution. These will cease to exist from April 2.

BBC Worldwide’s top earner is its channels biz, which reps 30.4% of sales. Its 33 channels in more than 100 countries, including BBC America, have 356 million subscribers and generated $517 million in the last financial year.

The sale and distribution of content, including “Doctor Who” and “Sherlock,” produced $439 million, which is 25.9% of total sales. Sales of consumer products totaled $317 million, an 18.7% slice of sales.